Apparatus for cooling reciprocating, curved continuous casting molds



5 Sheets-Sheet 1 I C. W. SAUNDERS CONTINUOUS CASTING MOLDS l APPARATUS FOR COOLING RECIPHOCATING, CURVED Filed Aug. 15, 1966 5 Sheets-Sheet z RS OCATING, CURVED CONTINUOUS CASTING MOLDS Dec. 3, 1968 APPARATUS .FOR

Filed Aug. 15, 1966 Dec. 3, 196s C w. SAUNDERS 3,414,047

APPARATUS FOR COOLING RECIPROCATING, CURVED CONTINUOUS CASTING MOLDS Filed Aug. l5, l96 5 Sheets-Sheet 5 Dec. 3, 1968 c. w. sAUNDr-:Rs

APPARATUS FOR COOLI NG RECIPROCATING CURVED CONTINUOUS CASTING MOLDS Filed Aug l5. 1966 `5 Sheets-Sheet 4 Dec. 3, 1968 c. w. sAuNDERs APPARATUS FOR 3,414,047 COOLING HECIPROCATING, CURVED CONTINUOUS CASTING MOLDS Filed Aug. 15, 1966 5 Sheets-Sheet 5 United States Patent O 3,414,047 APPARATUS FOR COOLING RECIPROCATING, CURVED CONTINUOUS CASTING MOLDS Charles W. Saunders, Aspatria, England, assignor to The United Steel Companies Limited, The Mount Broomhill, Shelield, Yorkshire, England, a British company Filed Aug. 15, 1966, Ser. No. 572,448 Claims priority, application Great Britain, Aug. 19, 1965, 35,664/ 65 3 Claims. (Cl. 164-283) ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A machine for continuously casting metal includes a mold which is curved and surrounded |by a water jacket, the assembly of mold and water jacket bein-g mounted to reciprocate within a stationary housing. To allow the cooling water to flow, hollow cylinders working in sockets lare interposed Ibetween the housing and the water jacket, the flow and return manifolds for the water are made in the housing and communicate Iwith the water jacket through hollow pivots on which the cylinders are mounted.

In a machine for continuously casting steel and other metals an open-ended mold surrounded fby a water jacket is mounted to receive a stream of the molten metal. It is common practice to reciprocate the mold in order to prevent the solidifying metal from sticking to it. Normally the mold is secured to a so-called mold table which also incorporates the flow and return water manifolds. The mold, mold tab-le and manifolds are reciprocated as a composite assembly, the flow and return -water circuits being connected to the table by flexible pipes. The total weight of the parts that must be reciprocated is considera-ble. Moreover the flexible water connections require frequent inspection and maintenance.

In recent years, the use of curved molds to produce curved strands has become increasingly common. Iif a curved mold is to 'be reciprocated, it is sometimes mounted in curved guides, the arcuate manufacture of which is very difficult, or it is sometimes carried by a frame that is mounted to rock about the centre of curvature of the molds. In either case it is even more desirable to reduce the weight of the reciprocating parts than when the mold is straight.

According to the invention, an assembly of a curved mold and its surrounding water jacket is mounted to reciprocate within a stationary housing that includes iiow and return mani-folds for the cooling water. Members mounted to slide with rectilinear motion are interposed between the housing and the water jacket and are connected to the water jacket through hollow pivots. The manifolds communicate with the ywater jacket throu-gh these hollow pivots. Because the interposed members are pivotally connected to the assembly they have the necessary freedom of relative movement while the relati've movement between them and the housing is rectilinear.

By means of the invention, the weight of the reciprocating parts is much reduced. In addition, since the housing is stationary, flexible water pipes need no longer be provided, and the need for maintenance of the -water pipes is also much reduced.

Two constructions according to the invention are shown 'by way of example in the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIGURE 1 is a central vertical section through the rst construction;

FIGURE 2, is a section on the line II-II in FIG- URE l;

ice

FIGURE 3 is an elevation, partly in section, of the second construction;

FIGURE 4 is a plan, partly in section on the line IV- IV in FIGURE 3, of the second construction; and

FIGURE 5 is a section on the line V-V in FIGURE 4 and is on va larger scale.

In the construction shown in FIGURES 1 and 2, a curved mold 1 is surrounded iby a water jacket 2, and is mounted to reciprocate vertically within a iixed housing 3. The mold jacket 2 is formed on each side with a pivot bearing 4 for a link 5 `which is also pivotally connected to a rod 6 that is pivotallymounted at 7 in the housing 3. The two rods are interconnected. at 8 by a rod (not shown), which is connected to a driving mechanism through which the rods 6 are rocked through a small angle and thus the mold is reciprocated in a curved path.

The housing 3 is formed with two manifolds 9 and 10 for cooling water, the water lentering the manifold 9' through a pipe 11 and leaving the manifold 10 through a pipe 12. The cooling water is lfed Ifrom the manifold 9 to the jacket 2 through a piston-like memlber 13, and from the jacket to the manifold 10 through an identical piston-like member 13. The member 13 comprises a hollow cylinder 15 which has two inwardly projecting, threaded sockets 16 that receive externally threaded trunnions 17. These trunnions, which are diametrically opposed, enter bores in bosses 18 on the jacket 2, thus forming hollow pivots by which the member 13 is connected to the mold assembly.

Ports 19 are made in the wall of the housing 3 that bounds the manifold 9, and a groove 20 is made around the outside of the cylinder 15 to fform a passage for Water entering through the ports 19. The axial length of the groove 20 is such that it is in register with the ports 19 over the whole reciprocating stroke of the mold. The cooling water passes from the groove Z0 into the jacket 2 through the trunnions 17, as indicated by arrows in FIGURE 1. The water leaves the jacket through similar trunnions 17 by which the cylinder 15 of the member 13 is pivotally mounted and through a similar groove 20 and ports 19' to enter the manifold 10.

In order to make seals against the escape olf Water, packings, in the form of chromium-plated piston rings, are provided as Shown at 24, 25, 26 and 27. The cylinders 15 and 15 are machined to make close sliding contact with machined linears 22 and 22 provided within the housing 3i. The machined surfaces may advantageously be chromium-plated.

In operation the mold is reciprocated with a very short stroke. The aXis of the liner 22 is perpendicular to that radius of curvature of the mold that passes through the axis A of the trunnion 17, so the cylinder 15 is con* strained to move along a tangent to the arcuate center line-of the mold. The cylinder 15 is similarly constrained to move in a rectilinear path. The mold as a whole is moved in a curved path, and the necessary freedom of movement is provided by rockin-g of the klinks 5, while the members 13 and 13 turn in relation to the mold about the trunnions 17 and 17.

The mold shown in FIGURES l and 2 is suitable for casting a square billet of comparatively small section, say 4 linches square. Whereas when a small lbillet is cast, water connections need only be made to two sides of the water jacket, this is not adequate in casting a slab, say of section 36 x 61/2", or other larger strand. Water must be supplied to all four sides of the jacket around such a slab, and a more :complicated construction is necessary. One such construction is shown in FIGURES 3 to 5.

In this construction, the mold is shown at 28 and its jacket at 29. The jacket round so lange a mold must be composite, and in fact is composed essentially of two long sides 30 and two short sides 31, providing two long water passages 32 and two short water passages 33. The housing is shown at 23 and is of U-shape in plan. At each short side of the mold and jacket, there are two interconnected structures 35 and 36 in which the water passa-ges between the housing and the jacket are formed. The structure 35 is mounted in the housing and is composed of vertical cylinders 37 and 37' which can slide vertically in sockets 38 and 38 in the housing, sealing rings 39 being provided between each cylinder and socket; and of horizontal cylinders 40 and 40 `which terminate in stub pipes 41 and 41 that enter the mold jacket 29. The structure 36 is composed of blocks `42 and 42 surrounding and free to turn around the cylinders 40 and 40'; and of a bar 43 which interconnects the blocks 42 and 42'. The structure 36 moves as one with the mold and its jacket. A lug 44 on the block 42 forms a pivot mounting for links 45 which are connected to a rod 46 which is pivoted at 58 in the housing. When this rod is rocked about the pivot 58 the mold is reciprocated through the links 45. There are of course two rods 46, one at each side of the mold.

The housing 34 is formed with a supply manifold 47 to which a pipe 48 is connected and a discharge manifold 49 to which a pipe 50 is connected. The manifold 47 leads into each of the lower sockets 38', and the manifold 49 leads into each of the upper sockets 38. Ports 51 and 51 are made in the cylinders 37 and 37. These cylinders are open at their lower ends, and their interiors communicate through ports 52 and 52' with the interiors of the cylinders 40 and 40. Further ports 53 and 53 :give access to interiors of the blocks 42 and 42', which are formed with ports 54 and 54 that lead to a ring pipe 55. Hol-low cylinders 56 pass through this pipe 55 and through the sides 30 of the water jacket, these cylinders 56 being formed with ports S7.

It will be seen lfrom this description that cooling water enters through the manifold 47, ows through the ports 51 and 52 into the cylinder 40', leaves through the ports 53' and 54 to enter the ring pipe 55, flows through the ports 57 into the cylinder 56 and so into the water passages 32, and flows up through these and out through the corresponding parts to the manifold 49. Some of the water that enters the cylinder 40 also ows through the stub pipe 41 and up through the water passages 33 to ow out to the manifold 49.

During the reciprocation of the mold the necessary freedom of movement to allow the mold and structure 36 to move as a whole in a curved path is afforded by the links 45. The structure 35 reciprocates with linear motion, being guided by sockets 38 and 38 in which the cylinders 37 and 37 slide. The axes of the sockets 38 and 38 are respectively perpendicular to radii of curvature of the mold in the same way as the axis of the liner 22, shown in FIGURE l, this feature assisting the movement when the mold has a long stroke. There is relative rotary motion between the structures 35 and 36 at the places where the cylinders 40 and 40 pass throu-gh the blocks 42 and 42'.

What is claimed is:

1. A machine for continuously castin-g metal comprising an assembly of an open-ended `curved mold and water jacket surrounding the mold, a stationary housing including flow and return manifold for cooling water, the assembly of mold and water jacket lbeing mounted to reciprocate within the housing, Imembers mounted to slide with rectilinear motion interposed between the housing and the water jacket, and hollow pivots connecting said mem-bers to the water jacket, the manifolds communicating `with the water jacket through the hollow pivots.

2. A machine according to claim 1 in which ports leading to the hollow pivots are made in the walls of the manifolds and sliding seals are `formed between the interposed members and the housing on each side oif each of these ports.

3. A machine according to claim 1 in which the interposed members include hollow cylinders working in sockets, in the housing, the manifolds communicating with sockets, and the cylinders having ports leading to the hollow pivots.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,385,595 7/1921 Van Ranst 164-83 2,789,327 4/1957 Corley 164-283 X 3,313,006 4/1967 Barbe et al 164-283 J. SPENCER, OVERHOLSER, Primary Examiner.

R. S. ANNEAR, Assistant Examiner. 

